The prevailing practice in deciding the practical completion of construction work

Abstract

Practical completion is a stage when in the opinion of contract administrator the works carry out by the contractor has reached practical completion. Generally, contract administrator will issue the Certificate of Practical Completion when: i) the works have been completed in accordance to the contract, ii) the whole works have passed any specified tests and inspections, iii) the building can be occupied for its intended purposes, and iv) the presence of minor defects does not affect the functionality of the building. However, based on the Auditor’s General Report, there are projects that have been issued with Certificate of Practical Completion, but are still incomplete and not in accordance to the contract. Therefore, the research on the prevailing practice of contract administrator needs to be refined in order to know to what extend does the contract administrator has discharged his duties in determining the practical completion. Based on the analysis of data, the prevailing practice of contract administrator can be divided into two categories. First is the contractual duties, which are any duties that are expressed in the contract and, secondly is noncontractual duties, which are the duties that are not stated in the contract or considered as common practice in the construction works. The data analysis has shown that the contract administrators have performed their duties in determining the practical completion beyond their contractual duties by performing the prevailing practices. They had performed their due diligence and sometimes more than the standards of what they were expected to do. The prevailing practice was needed to satisfy the duty. The more that the administrator follows the prevailing practice of the industry, the more likely that no breach of the duty can be found. It can be concluded that the power of contract administrator is quite extensive and broad because he is given the discretionary power in deciding practical completion. He has the authority to do more than what is required in the contract. By performing the duties, it will strengthen the decision taken by the contract administrator in determining practical completion. This hereby dispels any doubt with the issuance of the Certificate of Practical Completion.